Your Weekly Laylatul Qadr

Your Weekly Laylatul Qadr

We begin by praising Allah and bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for Him. And we bear witness that Muhammad is His final messenger. We ask Allah to send His peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him, and those that follow in his blessed path until the Day of Judgment.

We ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen.

The Caravan and the Khutbah

Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to imagine if you were sitting in the masjid of the Prophet while he was giving Khutbat al-Jumu'ah. Is there anything more beautiful, more fulfilling than sitting and listening to the messenger of Allah himself speak? And while he is speaking, a caravan coming from Al-Sham with all of its goods and with all of its bells and with all of its food and everything around it comes next to the masjid — and everybody leaves the masjid to catch what's on that caravan, except for 12 or 8 people that stay with the Prophet.

According to many of the narrations that we find in the tafsir of Surah al-Jumu'ah, this was the incident that Allah speaks to when He says:

That when they see these trades coming through, when they see these goods coming through, then they go rushing towards it and they leave you standing, O Muhammad. Say that that which is with Allah is better than all sustenance, better than all trade, better than all amusement — and Allah is the best of all sustainers and providers.

Now — did this happen before the Prophet started giving the khutbah? Was it when he stood up to say salam? Was there a period of hunger in Medina as some of the narrations suggest? Is there more to the story? All of that is irrelevant to us for the discussion that we are having today. I want you to think about the many ways in which Allah tests you on a daily basis to see if you view Allah as better than what you pursue otherwise.

And so we're learning on a daily basis — Allah is better than food and drink. That what we gain through the spiritual sustenance of a day of Ramadan is better than what we gain through our physical sustenance, and we go through this exercise on a regular basis until this becomes solidified in our hearts and minds: that spiritual sustenance is more important than physical sustenance.

Laylatul Qadr and Jumu'ah: A Parallel

We come through the month of Ramadan and we come across Laylatul Qadr, the best night. May Allah allow us to observe it and catch it and gain its full reward. Allahumma ameen.

But I wanted to talk about the many comparisons between Laylatul Qadr and the day of Jumu'ah — and particularly the way that you approach Jumu'ah on a weekly basis, similar to how you pursue Laylatul Qadr on an annual basis. Because the point of this is actually to reframe our entire lives.

Just like that one month is supposed to transform the way we approach all other months. Just like that day of fasting is meant to transform all of our other days — so that we still prioritize our spiritual sustenance over our physical sustenance even when the physical sustenance comes back. In the same way, there is a weekly component. And subhanAllah, as I was thinking about it, there is almost nothing about Salatul Jumu'ah that doesn't have a parallel or an analogy to Laylatul Qadr.

The Best Day of the Week

First of all, the Prophet mentioned to us:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 7, Hadith 1862)

The best day that the sun has risen upon is the day of Friday. This is the best day of the week. And Allah gave this ummah the blessing of honoring the day of Friday and being honored by the day of Friday.

And the Prophet also taught us — whether it is from the Qur'an or the Sunnah — the best night of the year is Laylatul Qadr. So you have the best day of the week and you have the best night of the year.

Your Weekly I'tikaf

This here is your weekly i'tikaf. From the pillars of Islam, the only pillar — or component of a pillar — that requires you to be in the masjid (unless you are exempted, and the reward is for those who are exempted as well) is this Khutbat al-Jumu'ah.

And just like on the night of al-Qadr where we search for the scrolls of the angels and we hope that the angels will record our names — the Prophet mentions that the angels are recording the names of those who get to the masjid before the khutbah starts.

Can you imagine on the Day of Judgment when Allah rolls out the scrolls and you start looking through all the Fridays, and as you are seeing the Fridays you are missing a week here, two weeks here, three weeks there — and you remember: "Yeah, it was just two more minutes at work. It was just five more minutes I was dragging my feet." You may still get the credit for fulfilling the fard, the obligatory nature of Jumu'ah. But the Prophet teaches you to have a mindset that you don't even get to that point — because the one who comes six hours before the Jumu'ah is not like the one who comes five hours, or the one who comes four hours, or three hours, or two hours, or one hour, or even thirty minutes before. The earlier that you get, the greater the reward, the Prophet mentions — and they are not all the same.

Laylatul Qadr: Better Than a Thousand Months

Laylatul Qadr is better than a thousand months. We pray that all of us get that reward of a thousand months. But for some it is a thousand years of worship — because Allah left the khayr, the better part, unlimited and unrestricted.

The person who starts taking care of their Laylatul Qadr from Maghrib time until Fajr. The one who makes i'tikaf for the whole night versus the one who makes i'tikaf for an hour. The one who prays all of the Qiyam versus someone who prays a few rak'ahs of Qiyam. The one who remembers Allah throughout the night versus the one who has some conversations over suhoor. All of these are differentiating factors.

Likewise, the Prophet taught us that the earlier you come to Jumu'ah, the proportionality of your reward is — in a sense — decreasing the later you arrive. And if you could visualize the reward closing in up until Salatul Jumu'ah, until you get to this moment of when the Imam says السلام عليكم — then the record books close.

Laylatul Qadr has that same component where the angels have scrolls. And as the Prophet said — how deprived is the person whose name will not be in those scrolls. Meaning: how deprived is the one who is deprived of the blessing of Laylatul Qadr.

Recitation, Forgiveness, and the Accepted Du'a

You have the component of the angels with their records. You have the component of those who come early and achieve the reward. You have the component of the recitation of the Qur'an — where the Prophet mentioned that the one who recites Surah al-Kahf from Friday to Friday, Allah will put a nur, a light, between those two Fridays.

You have the component of forgiveness. From Ramadan to Ramadan is kaffarah lima baynahuma — a purification for everything that comes between the two. And Jumu'ah to Jumu'ah, the Prophet says, is a kaffarah, an expiation of the sins between the two. But not everyone is going to achieve that.

You see, there is a difference — as the ulema mentioned — between the one who will be sinful for missing Jumu'ah, or not be sinful because they caught at least the fard element of the Jumu'ah, and those who will attain forgiveness for their sins on the day of Jumu'ah. They are not the same thing.

And so you have this pursuit of Allah on a weekly basis — where you come to the masjid, where you're supposed to take this seriously, where you listen carefully to the imam, where the angels descend with salam. All of these elements exist in the Jumu'ah khutbah.

The preparation of the heart for the Jumu'ah khutbah. Everything from the way that you do ghusl before you come to Jumu'ah — the Prophet would tighten his waist belt for the last 10 nights — you do ghusl and you prepare yourself before you come to Salatul Jumu'ah. All of these represent an experience for you: that this Friday, this weekly i'tikaf that you have, this weekly immersion of all of the elements, is for the best day of the week — just like you have the annual immersion of all of these elements as you pursue the best night of the year.

And you ask yourself: Do I treat Jumu'ah this special? Do I treat the khutbah that special? Do I treat the Salat that special? Do I honor it?

And just as on the night of al-Qadr we look to Allah for accepted du'as — the Prophet mentioned that on the day of Friday there is an hour in which there is an accepted du'a, an accepted hour of supplications. May Allah allow us to achieve it. And so just as you're pursuing those accepted du'as on Laylatul Qadr, Jumu'ah is the day in which you pursue that special time for accepted du'as.

You have to take the mindset of the year and impose it on your day to day. You have to take the mindset of Laylatul Qadr and impose it on Jumu'ah.

Prayer Is Better Than Sleep

The last thing that I'll leave you with is this. SubhanAllah, you find that Salatul Fajr is the nightly test of our sleep. And some of us struggle to get up for Fajr. And there's that additional phrase in the Adhan of Salatul Fajr:

Prayer is better than sleep. That additional admonishing. So let the one who is struggling to fight with their bed, who hears As-Salatu Khayrun Minan Naum — prayer is better than sleep — recognize that Allah is calling them to something so much greater.

You are practicing in these last 10 nights As-Salatu Khayrun Minan Naum — to the extreme. The whole night is better in prayer than it is in sleep. And on the day of Jumu'ah, Allah says:

Say, what is with Allah is better than what you pursue otherwise. What is with Allah is better than your sleep. What is with Allah is better than your sustenance. What is with Allah is better than everything that you earn. What is with Allah is better than everything that you spend. What is with Allah is better than anything else.

Therefore the conclusion that I come to is that Allah is worth every single sacrifice in my life. Not just my food and drink. Because Allah is better than everything else.

What is with Allah is better than what you earn and what you trade with. What is with Allah is better than sleep. Prayer is better than sleep. The implication: Allah is better than everything else.

And subhanAllah — in the Adhan, As-Salatu Khayrun Minan Naum, prayer is better than sleep, and then you go to Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. Allah is greater. Allah is the greatest. And in Surah al-Jumu'ah, what does Allah say?

And by the way — Allah is the best of providers. And you know what that's a sign of? That whatever it is that you're pursuing outside of that immediate religious goal, Allah is the one who controls what proportion you will get of it anyway, and how much blessing there will be in it anyway. Allah is the one who determines how much barakah there is in your sleep. Allah is the provider of sleep, and Allah is the provider of rest, and Allah is the provider of energy. Allah is the one who will provide for you in terms of your sustenance.

And so if you leave Allah for something, know that you will lose Allah and you will lose that pursuit. But if you pursue Allah at the expense of something else, know that Allah will give you Himself — and He will give you the best of what you would have been pursuing anyway.

So: Qul ma'inda Allahi khayrun minal lahwi wa minat tijara — wallahu khayrun raziqeen. As-Salatu Khayrun Minan Naum. Allahu Akbar. Sacrifice your sleep. Sacrifice your wealth. And you'll realize in the process that you're really not actually sacrificing those things — in fact, you are blessing them. Because you are pursuing the provider of the best of those things, as well as the provider of the greater goals that only a few people pursue.

This night is greater than a thousand months. And there is no day of the week that has more qadr — more honor, more esteem — than this day of Jumu'ah.

A Call to Action: Approach Jumu'ah Like Laylatul Qadr

Change the way you approach Salatul Jumu'ah going forward. Don't just look at the rest of these ten nights. Look at how you approach Jumu'ah every single week.

Come early. Take your shower. Think about how you're going to get there in a way that's dignified. You're not rushing to get in. Walk with a slow pace, knowing that every single step is forgiveness for a year of sin, an elevation of your degrees. Approach Jumu'ah the way that you would approach Laylatul Qadr. And with that internal sentiment: now I know Allah is better.

Du'a and Closing

May Allah shift our priorities towards that which is greater. May Allah allow us to recalibrate towards Him in Ramadan in every way. May Allah allow us to catch the best of nights and the best of days and the best of deeds, and have the best of endings and the best of rewards. And may Allah make the best day of our lives the day in which we meet Him and He is pleased with us.

And may Allah give our brothers and sisters in Gaza and Palestine and Sudan and Yemen and all over the world better days in terms of the oppression that they are facing, and grant them victory in this month of Ramadan. Allahumma ameen.

Dear brothers and sisters, it always bewilders me why Jumu'ah is more crowded in Ramadan than outside of Ramadan. And so whether you're inside the building or you're outside in the tents, dear brothers and sisters — these are the gatherings. There are no times throughout the year in which the angels are more gathered in single places than the masajid on this day of Friday.

Dear brothers, those who have been deficient in regards to their Jumu'ah — either not coming to it at all, or coming to it late and with laziness — this is your time to make tawbah to Allah. There is absolutely no reason why the numbers for Jumu'ah should drop off in any way after Ramadan. So may Allah keep us all firm upon that which He has commanded us to be firm upon. And may Allah forgive us for our shortcomings.

May Allah forgive our parents and have mercy on them. May Allah grant us from our wives and offspring the pleasure of our eyes and make us imams for the righteous. May Allah help our weak brothers in the east and the west. May Allah honor Islam and Muslims, and humiliate shirk and falsehood, and destroy the enemies of this religion. May Allah help our brothers and the mujahideen in Palestine and everywhere.

O servants of Allah — indeed Allah commands justice and ihsan and generosity to those near, and forbids immorality and evil and transgression. Remember Allah and He will remember you. And thank Him for His blessings and He will increase you. And the remembrance of Allah is the greatest. And Allah knows what you do. And establish prayer.